Archive for December 2009

WAR did only get the Fall from Grace Award and I can partly understand why.

Did WAR fall? Surely if you expected it to become a WoW-Killer or DAoC v2. The layoffs didn’t support an overly positive impression too. Subscription numbers seem to be really low (compared to the expectations). All in all WAR dropped not only on the hype-meters, but also in the perception of most MMO-interested of being an alternative to any other MMO.

Many stuff happened in the past year and much has changed. LotD was being hyped (by Mythic) and died before it really set foot in the game..at least for me. It’s just a leveling-zone with few RvR actions going on and a zone where I search for the Runepriest Healing staff .;)

If I look back I think that WAR has changed a lot and it’s getting better and better.. Sure.. Mythic did some terrible decisions (more city sieges anyone? *cough*), but the game is just a lot of fun. Performance is at an acceptable level, though it really gets laggy when you have all the players in one pairing. Like yesterday, when Order locked the Dwarf/Greenskin pairing and Destruction locked Empire/Chaos. In Eataine some of my spells just didn’t finish because of the lag, but in the normal fights with not more than 4 warbands involved performance is really good.

When both realms bring enough people on the battlefield the game is a blast. What I really like is that nowadays you can find some group-action, i.e. Destruction has some guild-groups so our guild-groups find some small-scale RvR fights. There is action on all fronts in a RvR zone and there’s not always one single zerg per realm that is roaming through the zone… When I log on I can hop onto a zerg-train or find some small-scale action, just as I like. No rule without exception… City sieges ruin my gaming-time ;)

Is Syp’s …Award for WAR justifiable? Sure. WAR did fail on many fronts and couldn’t fulfill many of the high expectations for it. Layoffs being an indicator for failing and falling..

Does this mean that the game is not fun? No.. Mythic has done some stuff really good and though I can understand that it’s not for everyone, I enjoy the game.

(English translation.. Just written down by me.. so if I’ve done anything wrong blame me ;))

What leads to this question: What remains if you quit a MMO? If you stop playing EVE, WoW, WAR, AoC, etc..? What impressions remain? Just a MMO-Museum?

If I grab my Tabletop-Figures, then I hold something in my hands. If my MMO-subscriptions runs out, then remains…what? How can you conserve a MMO-Experience best/easiest?

I have quitted some online games now and never tried to conserve any of the stuff that happened there. Well..that’s not right.

I didn’t write down anything, saved screenshots, etc.. just for the purpose of having something to look back. Somewhere I have some combat logs from the MUDs I’ve played. Lately I stumbled upon some screenshots I took when playing WoW..and I’m blogging about WAR (and STO).. but this is not meant to be a form of solidifying the essence of the experience when playing.

The only thing that really keeps the fun of a MMO experience alive are the many nice people I’ve met and played together with. Just as the web keeps information alive by spreading it around, it’s talking to people with whom you had some nice gaming experiences which brings back the fun, excitement, etc…. of that special MMO moment you don’t want to forget.

So I don’t need a physical thing after I quit a MMO. It’s more than enough that I meet new people and keep in contact with (at least) some of them after I quit that game. This is the most important thing in online gaming (and blogging) for me. This social element is the thing that differs from a single-player to a MMO.. It’s not the need for grouping.. loot..items..ranks etc..

World’s first kill/highest item/rank is nothing if you have no one to share the experience with…and I don’t mean bragging about it.